He, therefore, suggested that, apart from endowments, research funding could also be sourced from alumni bodies, partnership with industry, accessing development funding, university linkages, through putting on the entrepreneurial cap and adoption of blending approach to funding research, among other sundry sources.
Igali, while advising the university’s management to be innovative, said, “The question ahead of us is where does University of Africa want to belong? My submission would be, we should be on the right side of history, of being a national problem solver and a much sought after institution around the world.
“It is our disposition towards today that would determine where University of Africa will be in terms of its relevance in the global education market. But then as the saying goes, it is impossible to make an omelette without breaking eggs.
“This will require innovation and creativity from the management of the university. For this, as stated earlier, the university must be able to recruit and have the right calibre of staff who can handle this highly specialised duties of raising funds from multiple sources. This is because it would be difficult for a researcher to be the one who has the responsibility of carrying out investigation and studies and at the same time, be saddled with the hunt for resources.”
In his remarks, the Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, called on federal agencies such as the Tertiary Education Trust Fund and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board to support the state in the funding of research projects by its tertiary institutions.
The governor, represented by his deputy, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, also charged the state-owned institutions of higher learning to redouble their efforts to tap research funds lying idle at the NCDMB and other public-spirited corporate bodies.
He emphasised the importance of research in tertiary education and the overall development of society, noting that what makes an educational institution to stand out is the quality of its research works.
Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor of UAT, Professor Kingston Nyamapfene, had stated that the public lecture was a clarion call on all stakeholders, especially government, to invest more resources in research and development to meet the manpower needs of the university system and society at large.